Britain Names New Director of MI6 Spy Agency

LONDON — Britain has named Alex Younger, an economics graduate and former soldier, as the next director of MI6, known officially as the Secret Intelligence Service, the British equivalent of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Mr. Younger, 51, who has worked with MI6 since 1991, will replace John Sawers, who spent most of his career as a top diplomat, serving as ambassador to Egypt and the United Nations, as well as the senior foreign-policy adviser to Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Mr. Younger, who takes over in November, has served in Europe, the Middle East and Afghanistan. The head of MI6 is known as “C,” after the first head of the agency, Mansfield Cumming, not “M,” as Ian Fleming had it. The chief is the only member of MI6 whose name is published, and the service operates in secrecy. Britain publicly admitted its existence only in 1994.

The government biography gave few details about Mr. Younger other than that he is married, has children, enjoys music, sailing and mountaineering. It said he had been in charge of intelligence operations for the last two years and had worked on security for the London Olympics in 2012. Even the photograph the government released of Mr. Younger was slightly out of focus.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A7 of the New York edition with the headline: Britain: New Spy Chief Named at MI6. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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